Myths and Marvels of Astronomy
being shaped like a fan, the pyramid, set at the part corresponding to
the handle, was, he considers, 'that monument pure and undefiled in its
religion through an idolatrous land, alluded to by Isaiah; the monument
which was both "an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt,
and a pillar at the border thereof," and destined withal to become a
witness in the latter days, and before the consummation of all things,
to the same Lord, and to what He hath purposed upon man kind.' Still
more fanciful are some other notes upon the pyramid's geographical
position: as (i.) that there is more land along the meridian of the
pyramid than on any other all the world round; (ii.) that there is more
land in the latitude of the pyramid than in any other; and (iii.) that
the pyramid territory of Lower Egypt is at the centre of the dry land
habitable by man all the world over.
It does not seem to be noticed by those who call our attention to these
points that such coincidences prove too much. It might be regarded as
not a mere accident that the great pyramid stands at the centre of the
arc of shore-line along which lie the outlets of the Nile; or it might
be regarded as not a mere coincidence that the great pyramid stands at
the central point of all the habitable land-surface of the globe; or,
again, any one of the other relations above mentioned might be regarded
as something more than a mere coincidence. But if, instead of taking
only one or other of these four relations, we take all four of them, or
even any two of them, together, we must regard peculiarities of the
earth's configuration as the result of special design which certainly
have not hitherto been so regarded by geographers. For instance, if it
was by a special design that the pyramid was placed at the centre of the
Nile delta, and also by special design that the pyramid was placed at
the centre of the land-surface of the earth, if these two relations are
each so exactly fulfilled as to render the idea of mere accidental
coincidence inadmissible, then it follows, of necessity, that it is
through no merely accidental coincidence that the centre of the Nile
delta lies at the centre of the land-surface of the earth; in other
words, the shore-line along which lie the mouths of the Nile has been
designedly curved so as to have its centre so placed. And so of the
other relations. The very fact that the four conditions _can_ be
fulfilled simultaneously is evidence that a coincidence of the sort may
result from mere accident.[16] Indeed, the peculiarity of geographical
position which really seems to have been in the thoughts of the pyramid
architects, introduces yet a fifth condition which by accident could be
fulfilled along with the four others.
It would seem that the builders of the pyramid were anxious to place it
in latitude 30 deg., as closely as their means of observation permitted.
Let us consider what result they achieved, and the evidence thus afforded
respecting their skill and scientific attainments. In our own time, of
course, the astronomer has no difficulty in determining with great
exactness the position of any given latitude-parallel. But at the time
when the great pyramid was built it must have been a matter of very
serious difficulty to determine the position of any required
latitude-parallel with a great degree of exactitude. The most obvious
way of dealing with the difficulty would have been by observing the
length of shadows thrown by upright posts at noon in spring and autumn.
In latitude 30 deg. north, the sun at noon in spring (or, to speak
precisely, on the day of the vernal equinox) is just twice as far from
the horizon as he is from the point vertically overhead; and if a
pointed post were set exactly upright at true noon (supposed to occur at
the moment of the vernal or autumnal equinox), the shadow of the post
would be exactly half as long as a line drawn from the top of the pole
to the end of the shadow. But observations based on this principle would
have presented many difficulties to the architects of the pyramid. The
sun not being a point of light, but a globe, the shadow of a pointed rod
does not end in a well-defined point. The moment of true noon, which is
not the same as ordinary or civil noon, never does agree exactly with
the time of the vernal or autumnal equinox, and may be removed from it
by any interval of time not exceeding twelve hours. And there are many
other circumstances which would lead astronomers, like those who
doubtless presided over the scientific preparations for building the
great pyramid, to prefer a means of determining the latitude depending
on another principle. The stellar heavens would afford practically
unchanging indications for their purpose. The stars being all carried
round the pole of the heavens, as if they were fixed points in the
interior of a hollow revolving sphere, it becomes possible to determine
the position of the pole of the star sphere, even though no bright
conspicuous star actually occupies that point. Any bright star close by
the pole is seen to revolve in a very small circle, whose centre is the
pole itself. Such a star is our present so-called pole-star; and, though
in the days when the great pyramid was built, that star was not near the
pole, another, and probably a brighter star lay near enough to the
pole[17] to serve as a pole-star, and to indicate by its circling motion
the position of the actual pole of the heavens. This was at that time,
and for many subsequent centuries, the leading star of the great
constellation called the Dragon.
The pole of the heavens, we know, varies in position according to the
latitude of the observer. At the north pole it is exactly overhead; at
the equator the poles of the heavens are both on the horizon; and, as
the observer travels from the equator towards the north or south pole of
the earth, the corresponding pole of the heavens rises higher and higher
above the horizon. In latitude 30 deg. north, or one-third of the way from
the equator to the pole, the pole of the heavens is raised one-third of
the way from the horizon to the point vertically overhead; and when this
is the case the observer knows that he is in latitude 30 deg. The builders
of the great pyramid, with the almost constantly clear skies of Egypt,
may reasonably be supposed to have adopted this means of determining the
true position of that thirtieth parallel on which they appear to have
designed to place the great building they were about to erect.
It so happens that we have the means of forming an opinion on the
question whether they used one method or the other; whether they
employed the sun or the stars to guide them to the geographical position
they required. In fact, were it not for this circumstance, I should not
have thought it worth while to discuss the qualities of either method.
It will presently be seen that the discussion bears importantly on the
opinion we are to form of the skill and attainments of the pyramid
architects. Every celestial object is apparently raised somewhat above
its true position by the refractive power of our atmosphere, being most
raised when nearest the horizon and least when nearest the point
vertically overhead. This effect is, indeed, so marked on bodies close
to the horizon that if the astronomers of the pyramid times had observed
the sun, moon, and stars attentively when so placed, they could not have
failed to discover the peculiarity. Probably, however, though they noted
the time of rising and setting of the celestial bodies, they only made
instrumental observations upon them when these bodies were high in the
heavens. Thus they remained ignorant of the refractive powers of the
air.[18] Now, if they had determined the position of the thirtieth
parallel of latitude by observations of the noonday sun (in spring or
autumn), then since, owing to refraction, they would have judged the sun
to be higher than he really was, it follows that they would have
supposed the latitude of any station from which they observed to be
lower than it really was. For the lower the latitude the higher is the
noonday sun at any given season. Thus, when really in latitude 30 deg.
they would have supposed themselves in a latitude lower than 30 deg., and
would have travelled a little further north to find the proper place, as
they would have supposed, for erecting the great pyramid. On the other
hand, if they determined the place from observations of the movements of
stars near the pole of the heavens, they would make an error of a
precisely opposite nature. For the higher the latitude the higher is the
pole of the heavens; and refraction, therefore, which apparently raises
the pole of the heavens, gives to a station the appearance of being in
a higher latitude than it really is, so that the observer would consider
he was in latitude 30 north when in reality somewhat south of that
latitude. We have only then to inquire whether the great pyramid was set
north or south of latitude 30 deg., to ascertain whether the pyramid
architects observed the noonday sun or circumpolar stars to determine
their latitude; always assuming (as we reasonably may) that those
architects did propose to set the pyramid in that particular latitude,
and that they were able to make very accurate observations of the apparent
positions of the celestial bodies, but that they were not acquainted
with the refractive effects of the atmosphere. The answer comes in no
doubtful terms. The centre of the great pyramid's base lies about one
mile and a third _south_ of the thirtieth parallel of latitude; and from
this position the pole of the heavens, as raised by refraction, would
appear to be very near indeed to the required position. In fact, if the
pyramid had been set about half a mile still farther south the pole
would have _seemed_ just right.
Of course, such an explanation as I have here suggested appears
altogether heretical to the pyramidalists. According to them the pyramid
architects knew perfectly well where the true thirtieth parallel lay,
and knew also all that modern science has discovered about refraction;
but set the pyramid south of the true parallel and north of the position
where refraction would just have made the apparent elevation of the pole
correct, simply in order that the pyramid might correspond as nearly as
possible to each of two conditions, whereof both could not be fulfilled
at once. The pyramid would indeed, they say, have been set even more
closely midway between the true and the apparent parallels of 30 deg.
north, but that the Jeezeh hill on which it is set does not afford a rock
foundation any farther north. 'So very close,' says Professor Smyth,
'was the great pyramid placed to the northern brink of its hill, that
the edges of the cliff might have broken off under the terrible
pressure had not the builders banked up there most firmly the immense
mounds of rubbish which came from their work, and which Strabo looked so
particularly for 1800 years ago, but could not find. Here they were,
however, and still are, utilised in enabling the great pyramid to stand
on the very utmost verge of its commanding hill, within the limits of
the _two_ required latitudes, as well as over the centre of the land's
physical and radial formation, and at the same time on the sure and
proverbially wise foundation of rock.'
The next circumstance to be noted in the position of the great pyramid
(as of all the pyramids) is that the sides are carefully oriented. This,
like the approximation to a particular latitude, must be regarded as an
astronomical rather than a geographical relation. The accuracy with
which the orientation has been effected will serve to show how far the
builders had mastered the methods of astronomical observation by which